I'm from Tržič, I'm known far and wide

Every town can boast of famous local sons and daughters who carry the town's name all over the world. Tržič residents are very proud of their fellow townspeople. Through a tour of the old town centre you can learn about famous personalities who once lived or worked in Tržič.

Dr. Tone Pretnar

From the parking area at the former Tržič cotton spinning and weaving mill head towards the Dr. Tone Pretnar Library (Balos 4).

The most important representative of the newer generation of Tržič intellectuals is the educator, translator, researcher, poet, and literary critic Dr. Tone Pretnar. He spent his childhood and youth in Tržič. He was Tržič's first travelling librarian. While still a student he would go to the mountain hamlets of the Tržič municipality with a suitcase full of books and instill a love of reading and respect for books among the people. In the Tržič library, which is named after him, you can visit a memorial room dedicated to his life.

Continue on along Tržič's main street, Trg Svobode (Freedom Square).

Gašper Primic

In the house at 21 Trg Svobode there used to be an inn, and over the course of centuries many different owners conducted business there. In the mid-18th century Gašper Primic, the great-grandfather of Julija Primic, France Prešeren's unrequited love, married into the Jošt family. After Primic the shop at 21 Trg Svobode was taken over by the Holzapfel family, the founders of a home for deaf-mutes in Ljubljana.

Janez Demascen Dev

Another famous person from Tržič is Janez Demascen Dev, born in the house at 25 Trg Svobode. Demascen was the first Slovenian secular poet as well as an editor and the main author of Pisanice, the first Slovenian poetry almanac. He also wrote the libretto (opera text) for the opera Berlin, the first opera in the Slovenian language, composed by Jakob Frančišek Zupan.

Jakob Aljaž

At the intersection of Trg Svobode, Koroška (Carinthia) Road, and Partizanska (Partisan) Street stands the Church of St. Andrew.

In the period 1871-1880 Jakob Aljaž, an enthusiastic Slovene, singer, and mountaineer, served as chaplain in the Church of St. Andrew. He taught singing to journeymen and also led the town choir. Before Christmas of 1871 he put the Christmas carol "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht" (Silent Night) into Slovene and on Holy Night in Tržič he sang it for the first time in the Slovenian language. Solo, in front of the altar, accompanying himself on the guitar.

Skiers from Tržič

Tržič boasts a rich sporting past and present. The Slovenian Skiing Museum, which is part of the Tržič Museum, houses displays of the history of skiing from its first beginnings in prehistoric times to the present day. Part of the exhibition is devoted to the great names of Slovenian alpine skiing, and a special place is accorded to the skiers from Tržič who first competed in the Olympic Winter Games as far back as in 1948. Also presented are the most notable results of Jože Šlibar, Bojan Križaj, Andrej Jerman and Žan Košir.

At the museum take the stairs up to Koroška Street and return to Pod Gradom Pizzeria. Go through the entrance to the castle grounds and go up to Neuhaus Castle.

A great friend to the town of Tržič and its residents was the count and field marshal Joseph Radetzky von Radetz. In 1797 he married the Countess Francesca von Strassoldo Grafenberg. Her mother was the owner of the old mansion Neuhaus and Altgutenberg in Tržič along with all the properties and rights that came with it. Since the Count wished to live with his wife in Tržič, he bought the estate from his mother-in-law. He moved to Tržič and lived there until November 1819, with interruptions during times of war.

Olympians from Tržič

From the castle go down to Tržič Olympians Arena.

The name of this town, with barely 15,000 inhabitants, was carried out into the world by a number of Olympic competitors. The greatest number of participants at the Winter Olympic Games have come from Tržič, and if Tržič had a population of one million that would mean that on average 116 Olympians from Tržič would be competing in the Games each time they are held. In their honour Tržič's largest sports arena is named "Tržič Olympians Arena".

In the lobby of the arena there are photographs of the town's Olympians on display. Among them are Bojan Križaj, the initiator of skiing euphoria, biathlete Andrej Jerman and the only Slovenian Olympic medallist in snowboarding, Žan Košir.

Vojteh Kurnik

Continue over the bridge to Cankarjeva Street and after a few dozen metres you'll come to Kurnik House.

Vojteh Kurnik (1826 – 1886) was a cartwright by profession, a poet by talent, and a Slovenian patriot by choice. His poems celebrate the lives of local residents and artisans, their work and their qualities. He published his works in "Novice" ("News") and other Slovenian bulletins. The house he was born in is an important remnant of folk architecture in the town centre of Tržič. The house with its stone-built ground floor, wooden upper storey, shingled roof, black kitchen and openings in the roof for the purposes of drying combines late 18th century rural and urban architecture.